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Musical house: Melissa Gilbert takes on a new role
The Ingalls family: Laura Ingalls (Kara Lindsay), Charles "Pa" Ingalls (Steve Blanchard), Caroline "Ma" Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert), Mary Ingalls (Alessa Neeck) and Carrie Ingalls (Carly Rose Sonenclar) in a scene from "Little House on the Prairie, The Musical." Carol Rosegg/Courtesy
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
Published: 11/8/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 11/8/2009 4:57 AM
Authenticity on the stage can sometimes be a painful experience. Just ask Melissa Gilbert, who is starring in the new musical "Little House on the Prairie," based on the novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Wilder's novels were also the inspiration for the TV series of the same name that ran for nine years and also starred Gilbert — although in a very different role from the one she now plays in the musical.
During the show's run at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, just before the production set out on the national tour that brings it to the Tulsa PAC Tuesday, Gilbert suffered a back injury.
"I herniated a disc in my back," Gilbert said during a recent telephone conversation, "and that put a lot of pressure on some nerves. This is a very physical show, and I was in the wrong sort of shoes, and the costume was very heavy."
Gilbert continued performing, although the pain got to the point where she was forced to miss a couple of shows. But now, under the care of what she describes as "an extremely capable neurosurgeon," she's been able to return to the production.
"And I've been pain-free for the past couple of days, which is the first time I've felt like this since I hurt myself," she said. "We've also modified a few things when it comes to what I have to wear.
"Obviously some ways of moving are simply not to be done wearing stack heels and 10 extra pounds of petticoats," Gilbert said, laughing. "That may have been what they wore back in those days, but you try dancing
in that stuff."
'House,' in order
Gilbert starred as Laura in the TV series "Little House on the Prairie," winning that role when she still measured her age in single digits.
In the new stage musical, Gilbert now plays Caroline, the matriarch of the family, with Kara Lindsay as Laura, and Steve Blanchard — last seen in Tulsa as Lancelot in the 1992 touring production of "Camelot" — as Charles, the role played on TV by the late Michael Landon.
In addition, Gilbert's son Michael Boxleitner is also in the musical's cast, in the role of Willie Oleson, which Gilbert's brother Jonathan Gilbert played on TV.
"People always ask if this is like coming full circle," Gilbert said. "It's really more like going through the looking glass and back again. I'm not coming full circle, I'm still spinning around."
Having Gilbert star in the musical version of "Little House on the Prairie" might seem like an obvious choice, but the production was already in the works before Gilbert was approached with the offer to play "Ma" Ingalls.
The production has a stellar creative cast. Director Francesca Zambello is one of the world's leading opera directors. She and the show's composer, Rachel Portman, who won an Oscar for her score to the film "Emma," collaborated on the opera "The Little Prince," which Tulsa Ballet presented in 2006.
The show's book, which draws from the last four novels in Wilder's series, was written by Rachel Sheinkin, who won a Tony Award for her work on "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."
Her song
"The problem — as far as I was concerned, anyway — was that I don't sing," Gilbert said. "It's always been in the back of my mind to try and do a musical, but I had never sung in front of people before.
"So I met with Francesca and talked with her about this, saying that I didn't want to put her in the position of nurturing me while she was also trying to nurturing this show. Francesca said, 'Well, let's see — sing something.' So I did, and she said, 'What are you worried about? You can sing.' And I thought, 'OK, if you say so, Miss Opera.' "
Although there was a point in her life when Gilbert sought to put the image of the pigtailed Laura behind her (something chronicled in her recently published memoir, "Prairie Tale"), she says she is now quite comfortable with the legacy of "Little House on the Prairie."
"I've always been proud of the work we did," she said. "And that's one reason why the one big song I have to myself in the show means so much to me.
"It's called 'Wild Child,' and Ma sings it to Laura. It was written for my voice but, for me, there's so much meaning behind the song. It touches on my own childhood, watching my children grow up.
"And it also represents for me the not-so-small legacy of these books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the TV series. Singing that song to Kara each night is like passing that torch to her on stage."
Little House On The Prairie
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday,
8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m.
Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Nov. 15
Where: Chapman Music Hall,
Tulsa Performing arts Center,
101 e. Third St.
Tickets: $20-$60; 596-7111,
tulsaworld.com/mytix
James D. Watts Jr. 581-8478
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
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